My laughter spilled over when I read this quote while putting off the writing of this article by reading another article on the pervasiveness of the tendency to procrastinate: “Victor Hugo would write naked and tell his valet to hide his clothes so that he’d be unable to go outside when he was supposed to be writing.” Victor Hugo, a 19th century writer, penned one of the greatest pieces of literature ever: Les Miserables. Multiple film versions of that long... Read more
A great question just came my way:  “What if we had to campaign to get into heaven?” So, what would we have to do in order to win God’s “yes” vote that would fling open the doors to the equivalent of God’s oval office? Let’s start with a campaign manager. Someone to make us look good while seeing how awful we can make others look. This way by comparison God will have to vote for us, especially sense elected spots... Read more
Today, I offer you an advice column with a question coming from a friend in ministry in Southeast Asia. Question: We have a great woman at our church but her husband, formerly a church leader, has turned away from God over a leadership concern. They have two kids and she is trying to teach them the ways of God but encounters resistance from her husband 24/7. How can we help? Answer:  He may have been wounded by church people. Whatever... Read more
Note: this is an excerpt from An Ordinary Death: Where Grief and Relief Hold Hands, available from Amazon.com. Last week, as I was writing on my mother’s letters, I noted that my grandfather, my dad’s father, didn’t ever seem to write any letters. Most of the correspondence was between my mother and Kokomo, my dad’s mother. Kokomo died in the summer of 1971. Mother, ever faithful in her letters, kept writing and this time addressed them to Grandfather and Elaine,... Read more
Note: this is an excerpt from An Ordinary Death: Where Grief and Relief Hold Hands, available from Amazon.com. I have been home sick for a couple of days and managed to get into the church office yesterday for what I had thought would be just a couple of hours–which of course turned into an all-day marathon. But, more to the point, as I walked in, I was greeted with construction chaos.  Ladders in the hallway and storage room as electricians... Read more
Note: this is an excerpt from An Ordinary Death: Where Grief and Relief Hold Hands, available from Amazon.com. I’ve not written recently about my mother and my continuing grief process over losing her.  Mainly, I’ve not written because I just didn’t want people to know how hard this is for me.  So I’ve shoved it inside and let it fester and now I’m sick.  Just a bad cold, but enough that I am not able to go to work right... Read more
I admit it: I’ve watched the TLC TV Show “Sister Wives” with a fascinated horror. Here’s my take on the plot of this reality show: The alpha male, Koby, takes three blond look-alike wives when he is in his 20’s. Eventually, they start having children, and by the time we meet the family, these three wives have given birth to 13 offspring between them. All three are attractive and personable but . . . that’s a lot of pregnancies and... Read more
Last week, I spent several hours sorting donated canned goods at the North Texas Food Bank. During the days of the State Fair of Texas, people can get into the fair on Wednesdays at a greatly reduced price by donating three cans of food per person. On Thursday, those thousands and thousands of cans must be sorted and boxed for distribution to various agencies around the Metroplex so the food can get to the hands of the hungry. Instructions: “Often,... Read more
Note: this is an excerpt from An Ordinary Death: Where Grief and Relief Hold Hands, available from Amazon.com. Yesterday, I emailed on a friend of mine whose mother had a stroke similar to my mother’s and who is also in hospice care, being wonderfully watched over.  She wrote back with “and how are YOU doing?” Not well.  As I write that, I’m not sure what “well” is.  Maybe I’m just fine, but my “fineness” means living deep in sadness, again... Read more
Note: this is an excerpt from An Ordinary Death: Where Grief and Relief Hold Hands, available from Amazon.com. I began going through my mother’s correspondence yesterday: three crates full of copies of letters she had written and some that had been written to her. It is dawning on me that my mother may have been what is called “hypergraphic.”  It looks like she may have daily documented every detail of her life.  She handwrote pages and pages and pages each... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In